The European Union believes that the recent Ukrainian invasion of the border Russian Kursk region is part of the "legitimate military actions of self-defense", a spokesman said today in Brussels, quoted by DPA, BTA reported.
The spokesman for the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said that "Ukraine has the right to defend itself" against Russia, including "hitting the enemy on its territory".
Russia has declared a state of emergency in the Kursk region because of the fighting, with about a thousand Ukrainian soldiers taking part in the offensive, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The EU spokesperson confirmed "full support" of the block "for Ukraine and for its legitimate self-defense against aggression" and said the alliance would continue its "political, financial, humanitarian, diplomatic and military assistance" for Kyiv.
Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said earlier today that Russia's aggression is the cause of any escalation of the conflict with Ukraine, including the events in Kursk and Belgorod region in Russia, Reuters reported. "The main reason for any escalation of tension, for shelling, for military actions, for forced evacuations, for the destruction of the normal way of life, including in its own territories such as Kursk and Belgorod Oblast, is only and only the unequivocal aggression of Russia", wrote Podoliak in English on the social platform "Ex", the agency noted.